Something new
by cc92
Summary: There really aren't enough half-breed stories for my taste. This is one where Carlisle and Esme find half-vamp baby Edward, and we will go from there.
1. My Son

**Disclaimer- Don't own anything. Bla, Bla, Bla. You think I'd be wasting my time with fan fiction if I had Edward Cullen? All characters sadly property of Stephenie Meyer.**

Chapter 1-

My son.

Carlisle-

There are things I thought I would never be allowed to have. Fatherhood to an actual baby being one of them. The bonds our kind have with our mates always seemed like the only close relationships we are capable of. Our aggressive nature usually prevents us from even forming close friendships, which is why we usually keep in such small groups.

But I was always different, so was my Esme. It was startling the desperation I felt to save her. Seeing her lying there broken was terrifying to me somehow. I could remember the girl I met the decade before. Beautiful in the glow of youth and happiness. To pull someone into this life seemed wrong, but somehow that didn't matter to me anymore. It just seemed so obvious, like I had always been waiting for her.

When she woke and I learned of her son, the grief her story caused me was unnerving. The thought that a piece of her was gone forever was like a needle straight through my heart. That she would always carry that pain, that I couldn't save her from it felt wrong somehow. Like I had failed her, because I couldn't make it better. I was her mate and I couldn't take the hurt away.

When she told me the impression I had made on her sixteen year old self, I was relieved. She could love me; I could give her some happiness. That was all I wanted. In 1929 I decided to take Esme to South America. Another move that would change me and my existence forever, as well as my mates.

Esme-

There was blood. Human blood and plenty of it. I wasn't an unruly newborn anymore, but the temptation was still there. I could tell the blood was weak, someone was hurt. I held my breath and looked over at my mate. We were hunting and there really shouldn't have been any humans so far out in the jungle. Once Carlisle could see that I was in control he ran towards the smell. Luckily I was so busy taking in my incredible surroundings that I hadn't really slipped into hunting mode yet. I had never been to South America before. This was sort of a second honeymoon for us.

Carlisle tensed as we drew near, so I did too. What could be worrying him? He certainly knew how to handle a hurt human, my beautiful doctor. Maybe he was trying to form some excuse for our presence out here. We had no water or compass, maps or anything that would help us look like we belonged here. Our clothes were wrong too. Not that any of that would stop my love, he would help the injured human as best he could. All of a sudden a melodic cry reached my ears. It was beautiful and heartbreaking all at once. It was a baby's cry, my legs moved faster of their own accord. If the sound hadn't removed me from my right state of mind I would have noticed the telltale inhuman beauty of it.

Carlisle-

What was I seeing? The dead woman was easy enough to understand but what was this? I had smelled something different on my way to the scene. I couldn't identify it and that made me uneasy. Then I saw them. A very pretty pale young woman with reddish-brown hair lay dead on the ground with some of the worst internal damage I had ever seen. She hadn't been dead even a half hour. I would have assumed animal attack under different circumstances but I saw the source of the damage and the unusual scent in my wife's arms.

It was a baby. He was crying. He kept looking at Esme and then at me and back to the dead woman on the ground. As if begging us to help her. What was he? Esme had run faster than I ever saw her run before and scooped him up before I could even process what was happening. He had the same unusual hair as what I could now only assume was his mother, and bright green eyes filled with tears and grief.

My doctor's mind registered his too fast heart rate and the scent that was unmistakably not human. But not vampire either, a very strange mixture of both. What was I seeing? What could this boy be? He looked so unnaturally alert for an infant, like he could see everything going on around him and understand it. "Its ok baby, it'll all be ok." My wife cooed and looked at me with wonder and shock on her face.

My mind suddenly went to the legend of the incubus. Could there possibly be some truth to those stories? Could this boy be some mixture of vampire and human? "We have to take care of him." Esme said desperation in her voice. "We can find out what he is and help him and take care of him." I saw her clutching him to her. His cries had slowed and he looked at us with curiosity on his sad perfect face. I had seen two immortal children in Voltera; you had only to be near them to love them. Those terrifying creations were the most beautiful children you had ever seen.

But this boy somehow put them to shame. He had all the perfect features of our kind and all the beauty of humanity in his rosy, healthy looking skin and the lovely green of his too alert eyes. I couldn't find any words, what on earth were we supposed to do?

One foot in front of the other was all I could come up with.

Esme-

I walked around the trees within eye and earshot of Carlisle as he examined and then buried the poor woman under an uprooted tree. I didn't want the boy near that. My boy, I thought. I had no trouble with my control around him. His beating heart and blood were no temptation to me. Carlisle had already looked him over and assured me that he looked to be alright and told me his preliminary theory on the boy's origins.

I didn't care what he was. I knew about the danger of immortal children and the trauma they had caused to our world, but that wasn't what this boy was. My son. He was good, I was sure of it.

**A.N- Should I continue? Let me know.**


	2. Answers and Introductions

**Disclaimer- Don't own anything. Bla, Bla, Bla. You think I'd be wasting my time with fan fiction if I had Edward Cullen? All characters sadly property of Stephenie Meyer**.

Chapter 2-

Answers and introductions.

Esme-

We were about twenty minutes into our journey back to our cabin. I was grateful running didn't take any real concentration; I couldn't stop staring at the baby. His mother's name was Elizabeth Masen. The identification Carlisle found on her said that she was twenty-four and married. My heart ached at the thought that we might find a father. I knew it was selfish, very selfish, but I was already in love with my baby. I couldn't think of him as anything else. Where was his father? How could the man, vampire deserve this exquisite child if he had left them? It was then that I heard the light, almost indiscernible sounds of another of our kind.

Carlisle-

I stiffened. I wasn't prepared to meet another vampire at that moment. What if this was the boy's father? My heart clenched. How would I be able to help Esme through losing another son? The panic I felt neared the level it had been when I first found Esme in the morgue. I knew how quickly and fully my wife could love. How would she recover? And the boy? Would this innocent child be raised by a human drinker? The thought of him a few years older, hunting and killing innocents like his mother, made feelings stir in me I didn't know I had.

I felt protective of his innocence, and his future. How had I developed all these hopes for him in less than two hours? I had no right to feel possessive of this baby, but strangely I already felt like he belonged to me.

Esme-

I clutched my bundle closer to me as the foot-steps came quickly closer. Carlisle's jaw was locked and he had a determined but otherwise unreadable look on his face. He pulled me closer and we waited. My body was begging me to run, but I couldn't. Carlisle squeezed my hand and gave me a small smile. It was then I realized he was scared about what would happen now too. My eyes widened as the scent of this unwanted intruder reached us in the small clearing. It was the same strange mix of human and vampire as my boy.

The same perfect balance of the tastiest meal and the sweetest perfume.

Carlisle-

A young man stepped into the clearing with us. His beauty and scent were so similar to the baby in my wife's arms but I knew immediately he was not his father. He looked like a perfected version of the Mapuche people. He could not be sire to this pale, clearly Caucasian child. As many languages as I spoke I never bothered with Mapudungun, so I greeted him quietly in Spanish. He didn't answer; his alarmed gaze went straight to my Esme's arms. "What are you doing with that baby?" He asked in perfect English. He looked up at me and I saw something register when he looked at my eyes. He looked curious.

I stayed as calm as I could considering the very, very strange afternoon I was having "Unfortunately, we found him and his mother a few hours ago. She was dead; it looked like the birth killed her." He swallowed and looked sad. But not surprised. "My name is Carlisle, this is my wife Esme." I tried to seem as nonthreatening as possible. "Could you tell us about the boy? We aren't sure just exactly what he is or if he may have family we need to find."

A hint of amusement broke through his weary expression. "Would you care to follow me back to my home? That is going to be a rather long discussion I'm afraid." He said with a small smile. I looked at Esme, for once unsure. Should we follow this unknown back to his home? Should we trust him? She looked unsure too. Picking up on this, the young man spoke.

"I am Nahuel. You are animal drinkers?" I was surprised and excited. Did he know of others? "You have nothing to fear from me" he continued. "Let us go to my home. You can meet my aunt and you can feed the baby." There was sincerity in his looks and we needed information. Esme took an unneeded breath and nodded at me. "Thank you" I said. "I guess you can lead the way then."

Esme stood up and Nahuel started an easy trot through the jungle. We followed. After a ways I could tell we were getting a little nearer civilization but still far away from the humans enough to be practical for a vampire to live. We slowed near a cabin not un-similar to the one Esme and I were staying in, but larger. My mind was filled with questions. What could he tell us? What would his aunt be?

As Nahuel walked into the open near his home and out of the shade, I nearly gasped. The sun gave him a small glow but his skin didn't throw out any rainbow like prisms, as all vampire skin did. I looked over at Esme and saw that she noticed this too. She looked down at the baby who had been very quiet for a long while and stepped in to the sun.

Esme-

Beautiful little green eyes looked up at me in awe. My son was staring at the sparkle the sun gave to my skin and I looked at the absence of little rainbows coming off him. He only had a beautiful glow to his perfect rosy skin, very different from Nahuel's beautiful dark complexion, but still the sun wouldn't expose him. I was glad; he could go anywhere and do anything he wanted. He could walk around Paris in the springtime, in the day with no worries. He wouldn't ever have to worry about accidentally exposing himself like that. He had been very quiet for over an hour and a half now. He had looked curious, pensive, sad and a thousand other emotions had played out on his perfect little face in that time. But always aware, very aware. I wondered how a baby could seem to understand so much. Back in the clearing when we were waiting for Nahuel to appear, he knew we were waiting for something and that we were afraid.

Nahuel opened the door to his home. We could smell another like him, but female. The scent was hours old. We walked in, still nervous of each other. He looked kind though, and sad I realized. Not that he was letting it show much. Men really are ridiculous when they try to pretend they have no emotions. "Please sit down and be comfortable. As I said this could all take awhile."

He was trying to be friendly and nonthreatening, I could see. I looked around at the simply furnished but comfortable home and noticed the scent of an unknown meal in the air and dishes on a drying rack. But I could smell no human. Had he-they? cooked for themselves? Did they eat human food? That reminded me that the baby still hadn't eaten anything.

Seeming to hear my thoughts Nahuel went straight to the ice box and pulled out what smelled like goats milk. He then pulled out a bottle from the cupboard. That was of course a surprise to me. Did he have a baby? He saw the surprise on my face and smiled. "Good thing my sister left this here."

"You should try to make him have some of this before you offer him blood." He said handing me the goat's milk in the bottle. My son seemed to smell the milk and perked up. I was surprised when it looked like he was trying to hold it up himself, but I held it up for him and he began to drink as the rest of us watched. Carlisle was clearly fascinated. "Thank you." I said, feeling as if someone should say something.

Carlisle spoke a moment later. "Well I guess you know what we are already, but we don't know anything about you or the baby." Nahuel nodded and moved to the living area. He sat down on a large couch and began his story. "My aunt Huilen would be the better person to begin this story, but she will be away hunting until tonight. There are some jaguars she is itching to track down." We sat down and Carlisle spoke. "You hunt animals as well, you could tell us by our eyes earlier."He said curiously. "Yes, I have recently met some other animal drinkers that were full vampire. That is how I knew what you were."

Nahuel took a breath and leaned back for a moment to look at the baby. "Have you by chance heard of the local legend of the libishomen?" I looked at Carlisle, who nodded. "A blood drinker who preys on beautiful women." He said in a neutral voice. Nahuel nodded and spoke. "That legend is based on my father, Joham." The look on his face and the tone of his voice clearly gave away some bitterness. That's when it hit me, had he and his mother been abandoned as well? Did he go through what my boy had just endured and lost his mother?

Nahuel went on. "He calls himself a scientist." He said derisively. "He is a vampire, a full vampire like yourselves. My mother was a young human named Pire. He seduced and abandoned her. She looked for him everywhere; especially after she found out she was with child. My aunt tried to help her, and then begged she would look no more. She knew the legends of blood drinkers and suspected what he was. Normal food began tasting strange to my mother, so my aunt brought her some chicken blood to drink, and she seemed healthier until the time came near to have me."

Nahuel stopped there and took a deep breath. "I can remember my time in the womb. I was happy. I adored my mother's voice, sometimes she would sing to me. I grew very attached to my aunts as well. But near the end, there just wasn't any room. I needed out, and instead of a normal human birth-"He stopped again, looking down at the floor. "I bit and tore my way out, much like I imagine this one had to."He said looking at the baby. Carlisle gave a grave nod. "So you are half-human? And your aunt took care of you?"He asked.

"Yes. Before my mother gave birth she felt unusually well. She decided to go for a hike deep in to the wood. Unable to talk her out of it, my aunt went with her. It was over very fast. My mother made my aunt swear to take care of me before she died. When she was gone and Huilen picked me up after she gave up trying to help my mother, I bit her." Carlisle looked very interested at this. "She became a vampire?" He asked.

"She became a half-breed like me. She was unconscious for a little less than a day and a half, while I sat there waiting for her."Nahuel stopped abruptly and listened to the sound of foot- steps. "That is my aunt, she can help explain."

A woman of exceptional beauty entered the home with a surprised look on her face. Like Nahuel and the baby she had a full measure of human and vampire beauty. The best of both worlds. I didn't think I could have imagined anything more physically appealing than vampires, but these hybrids were absolutely stunning.

Nahuel stood up and went to his aunt. "These people have found Edwards boy. His mother was already gone. They are animal drinkers. I am trying to explain our race to them." He said and walked her over. She looked as weary as her nephew had but not unfriendly. "Carlisle, Esme this is my aunt Huilen."Nahuel introduced us.

We said our how do you does and Nahuel caught her up. She took it from there "Yes, I was unconscious for over a day. There was no great pain as I have heard described by other vampires. All I remember is running hot and cold like I was ill, and then I woke." She said. "I'm sure you remember how strange that is. Suddenly I could hear and see and smell everything. I was so strong, so fast. Then, of course I noticed my voice and face were too different to ever return home. Nahuel could hear my heart beat and was just at my side waiting for me to wake up." She gave him a motherly look and continued. "I snuck back home at night and took everything I could. I found some goat's milk for Nahuel and some food. I didn't have anyone to explain anything to me so it was a little while before my first real hunt. I did put some chicken blood into a bottle for Nahuel. I took him away and stayed in one area for as long as I could without people noticing my lack of aging, and avoided other vampires. I wasn't aging anymore, but Nahuel grew. I didn't know what that meant. Around seventeen or eighteen he just stopped. That was over a hundred and thirty years ago."

I had to break in when she paused. "So you drink blood and eat human food and don't age once you reach maturity?" She nodded and then Carlisle jumped in. "You were able to come so close to humans so soon after your change? How did you keep from attacking them?" Nahuel smiled at that. "It's not so hard for us. Humans do smell better but it's never anything worse than a bad food craving. There isn't any terrible burn or anything like I have heard described by normal vampires. Your diet is a natural inclination for us" He finished. Carlisle brightened at that, but my mind finally clicked on something he said earlier. "Who is Edward? Is he the baby's father?"I asked, clutching him closer to me.

Nahuel couldn't hide the sadness on his face. "He was." He said simply. "Edward Masen was an animal drinker like you. He came here looking for help. He worked as an English professor at a small college in Illinois where he met his wife. She was human, it was very hard for him but he loved her. He couldn't hide what he was from Elizabeth for too long. I guess he broke down and explained it all to her. She loved him anyway. Elizabeth's father was in the final stages of an illness when they met and she didn't want to be turned right away. But they married after his death, and she became pregnant. That's why he came here. Edward was desperate for answers and followed a trail of legends to South America."

"He found me and I offered to help him and Elizabeth. He had her at a place he rented way out here and I agreed to go with him once I found my aunt. When he didn't return I went looking for him. The only thing I found was a pile of ash and the scent of two strange vampires, a man and a woman. I could tell from the smell of the ashes it was him. He had been killed. This was four days ago. I haven't found any trace of the ones that killed Edward Masen, I was looking for his wife but apparently you were the ones to find her."

Carlisle-

I had a few more questions before I was ready to leave. "So the venom of half-breeds creates other half-breeds?" Huilen answered that one. "The males create other hybrids; the females of our kind have no venom." Esme looked up "So you know others? Nahuel said something about a sister."She asked.

"Yes, I have several half sisters. The results of my father's other _experiments. _Most of them live nearby. Their mothers ended the same way mine did when he abandoned them. One was just married a few years ago to another of our kind whose parents are also half-breeds. They live in Florida and have a set of twin boys."He smiled. "You can have children? What would they be?" I asked excitedly. There was a great deal of tragedy in these stories and my heart went out to Nahuel, as well as his aunt and the Masens, but this was still fascinating. "Half-breeds like ourselves, if the father is a vampire or part vampire. There is no difference, except if the mothers are also half-breeds the pregnancy isn't dangerous for them as it would be for a human woman. They're durable enough to handle it." Huilen answered.

"And your senses are comparable to normal vampires?" I asked. "Yes. Well I guess our sense of smell and taste are a little different, which is why we like some human food. But they are just as strong." Nahuel explained. "Are you as fast and strong as full vampires?" Esme asked. Nahuel smiled a mischievous smile at that. "We always have blood in our systems so we are always as strong as newborns. We can't go without air indefinitely though, and we still require a small amount of sleep. Though not much by the time we are grown."

Esme-

We stayed for about another two hours discussing Nahuels family and the small coven of animal drinkers he knew. We exchanged contact information and Nahuel asked us to bring the boy for visits. He gave us his sister's family's address in Florida and we told him of our cousins in Denali. He seemed happy enough to meet us and make new friends. Neither Nahuel nor Huilen had any problems with us adopting the child; they just asked that we keep in touch. Which of course we would.

And now our son had a name. Edward Masen Cullen.

**Authors Note. ****Thanks so much for the reviews of the first chapter guys. Hope you enjoyed chapter 2. I kind of needed this one so you guys could have some background info. As you can read, my half-breeds are a little different. I have my reasons for wanting Edward to age more like a human. One of them being to give Esme and Carlisle a little more mommy and daddy time. (Didn't anyone feel bad for Bella in breaking Dawn? Only seven years before Nessie is grown, and Jake butting in?)**


	3. Together

**Don't own anything...sniff sniff. So sorry for the wait.**

Chapter 3: Together

December 1936, Chicago.

Esme-

I was humming _The Way You Look Tonight _to myself as I hung a little wreath on the door. I would never tell Carlisle, but I had developed an odd little crush on Fred Astaire. Edward was doing his best to perfect the tune on the piano in the other room, Rosalie was helping him of course. She loved that they had music and cars in common. Edward still had a little ways to go in the mechanic department but Rose was helping him with that as well, and he was enthusiastic, and very nearly as stubborn as she was.

It was one of those rare, truly peaceful moments where I could practically purr in contentment. We weren't vampires right now, just a family. A family that had grown. This was our daughters fourth Christmas with us. I was proud of her, my girl. She had come so far.

When Carlisle left for that medical conference in New York, I couldn't have imagined that like an innocent little trip to South America, it would change our lives forever. I understood why Carlisle did what he did. He said it was "too much waste". And it was, it really was.

I understood all too well the feelings of betrayal and hurt she must have suffered through and endured. Too have someone who was supposed to love her do such a thing, that it didn't ruin her is a testament to her strength and grit. Grit I admired immensely. This life wasn't easy for her but she struggled through it. Carlisle didn't speak of it often but I know how much he wished he had some of Edwards venom with him when he went to New York. Rosalie would have been able to keep her dream of having a child. At the same time I know he probably would have felt wrong using Edwards venom.

Bringing someone into this life was an almost unfathomable responsibility, to use Edwards venom to create even a half-breed without his knowledge and consent would have felt very wrong to Carlisle. The truly tragic part to my daughters story is how unusually fitted she was for domestic life. She had the world in front of her. Rosalie was immensely beautiful, even as a human. She had a family that doted on her, little brothers. She was young and happy, and everything she wanted seemed to be in reach. Before it was all savagely ripped away, by someone she had put all her faith in. For someone to want such simple, innocent things as married life and motherhood and to have them denied was utterly cruel.

Rosalie worked very hard on her control and she had never slipped up, I was so very proud of my girl. I knew how deeply she felt what she had lost. Having Edward helped. She poured a lot of herself into loving and teaching my son. He would hand her tools and listen with rapt attention when she worked on Carlisles 1934 Chevy Master, she gave him music lessons, and Edward insisted she told the best bedtime stories. Which of course only meant that she would tell the most. I did my best to keep any territorial feelings I had at bay and let her have what she needed. Carlisle was the leader of our home and Edward was a light we gathered to like moths. He grew and learned and astonished us all everyday just by existing. And oh, how he worshiped his father.

Edward watched everything my love did in wonder, and drank up everything he said.

It was practically hero worship. He was so proud of Carlisle. He would ask endless question about his day and his patients, and beg to go on any house calls with him. They had their special hunting trips by themselves, he even managed to get Carlisle to lead a little nature walk and give first aid lessons to the local Boy Scout troop. Edward would hold his fathers hand possessively when they walked through town like he was hanging on to some lottery prize, and ask his opinion on absolutely everything under the sun. I loved it.

It wasn't always easy raising a child it was impossible to lie to. That was Edwards gift, he could hear lies. It made for some fancy verbal footwork with him growing up, but we made it work as best we could. Carlisle was better at explaining things to young ears than I was. We had long, long talks before we let him go to school. He didn't need it academically of course, he was light years beyond any child his age. We just wanted him to have the chance to interact with other children. Of course this involved long, long talks about his speed, his strength and all the things he couldn't talk about with the other children.

I'm sure the lessons must have bored him silly, but he never complained. I felt bad that he wouldn't get to stay connected to his friends when he grew up, but there was nothing we could ever do about that. It was only a matter of time, and not much of it before he would look too old for us to claim as our natural son, and there would have to be a new story.

In early 1935 our lives changed again.

Emmett McCarty, bigger than life was the baby of a large Scotch-Irish brood. He was found by Rosalie after being mauled by a bear. Carlisle was very hesitant but he identified with Rosalie. Had he not found his mate on their death bed? I think he would have done just about anything to make her happy. The only question then was how? Edward had heard everything when Rosalie brought Emmett to the house, and shocked us all by walking up to Carlisle and telling him it was OK to use his venom to help the man if Rosalie wanted to keep him.

Edward could hear the truth in her when she said she loved hm.

There wasn't much time to agonies over the choice so Carlisle used the stock of venom he had from Edward to examine and experiment with to change Emmett. This was nearly a year and a half ago. Emmett fell in love with Rosalie on sight. After everything she had been through I always worried she wouldn't be able to let herself fall in love again, but her gift helped. Rosalie could see relationships, what people felt for each other, what they would do for each other, how strong their bonds were. She could literally see Emmetts devotion to her.

Not that there was much doubting Emmetts word. He always said what he meant, he couldn't help himself. The rest of us fell in love with him fairly quickly as well. He had dimples, a huge laugh and a strangely innocent face. He and Edward were fast friends. Emmet packed Edward around almost everywhere he went, introduced him and Carlisle to the joys of football, and teased him mercilessly. Emmett also had a very protective nature which carried over when he was changed. He could sense danger, it was a strange gift for him to get the hang of, but it fit him.

I would see him look at Carlisle sometimes with a certain expression. I think he knew Carlisle wasn't capable of violence and so he was determined to make sure violence never made it to Carlisle, or any of the rest of us. I felt very blessed with this new addition. He took everything shockingly in stride considering what he had left behind.

I sighed and wondered when he and Carlisle would make it home. They had gone out to Washington so Carlisle could scout some hospitals and see if we might want to make the area our next move. There were some very rainy, cloudy places in Washington that would be very convenient to live.

I listened to Edward hammer out some carols on the piano and smiled. It was going to be a lovely Christmas.

**A.N. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Sorry again for the wait. (Of course more reviews would always spur me on.) Yes I made Edwards power different, but I figured with him actually growing up from a child with the family, that hearing lies would be a lot less awkward than hearing peoples thoughts. So I gave him Maggie's power. And I gave Rosalie and Emmett, Marcus' and Victoria's powers respectively. No worries, it wont be too long before we meet Alice and Jasper, and then Bella.**


	4. Home

**A.N Stephenie Meyers owns all characters, (Wont even rent them out, grumble, grumble,…..sigh). **

Chapter 4. Home

April 1937, Forks Washington.

Alice-

I could do acrobatics through the woods I was so happy. We were finally going to join our family. Unless you have been through it yourself, you could not imagine what it is like to wake up to this life alone. Having no idea what you are, or how to stop the pain until some poor, unfortunate human soul happens across your path.

That's what happened to me and I truly shudder to think of what I would have become without my family. Even if I hadn't met them yet.

I thought civilization was lost to me forever until I had the visions of joining Carlisle's brood. To know I would be loved by a family, and that I could exist without being a monster was as profound a moment for me as when I had my first vision of Jasper. The small but very deep ever-present hole in my chest began to heal. There was a point to my existence again. I had nothing when I woke. Even my own mind had left me too a point. It's hard to imagine the terror of not knowing who you are. Who ever decided to create me also decided to abandon me, and my memory followed suite.

Visions of Jasper and the Cullens were all I had to cling to. I owe Carlisle everything. I don't know how long I would have _wanted_ to live if it hadn't been for him. Jasper is my world, but I really doubt I could have survived the life of a human drinking nomad. And Jasper's depression had been growing steadily worse. He just couldn't take his preys emotions anymore, but he had no idea of how else to live.

I was excited to know all of them. Carlisle may as well have been my maker for the deep and lasting affect he had on me. He was a deep and genuine soul and I knew he would be a comfort to my Jasper. And I was really thrilled at the idea of spending time with Esme and Rosalie. Female companionship was something I was dearly looking forward to. Esme was so kind and loving it was impossible not to feel attached to her immediately, and I was anticipating a lot of joy in getting to create a wardrobe for the beautiful Rosalie. She was a sassy one, but that just made me love her. I would do my best to be a good sister and daughter to them all.

Then there was Emmett, and to my great surprise- Edward. Jasper was worried about the Volturi at first, and it took me some time to convince him of the harmless nature of half-breeds. After I pointed out that between his much superior control and non-sparkly skin, he was less of a threat to exposure then we were, he finally relaxed some. I could tell through rough glimpses of the future that Edward was going to be an invaluable friend to me when he was grown. He would understand me, and so I loved him already.

Emmett loved competition, and I figured he could help keep Jasper from getting too restless in the new life we were embarking on. Life as a Cullen would be bizarrely peaceful to him after the way he had lived. Emmett also had a great sense of humor, and there hasn't been a whole lot of laughter for Jasper in a very long time.

Forks would be a very convenient place to live. I had just enough time to get to them before they started unpacking. I hoped they wouldn't mind moving into the house I had renovated (disemboweled and resurrected really), instead of the one they had already purchased. It was beautiful though, an entire wall was made of glass. The view into the forest was spectacular. Winter, I was especially looking forward to. Looking out into the snow would be like something out of a fairy tale. Esme would forgive me once she found out that her budget for renovating and decorating was pretty much limitless from now on. Just one of the very handy benefits of having a precog in the family. I do love the stock market, and on occasion the underground casinos.

Jasper looked at me, clearly amused. I could tell my mood was getting to him despite his nerves. We were close now, I grabbed his hand and tried to be patient, they would be extremely cautious at the scent of two strange vampires. I could see everything going well though.

We stopped where they could see us and waited a good ways back into the woods near the house. Carlisle looked at Emmett who shook his head very slightly. I could only assume he was asking if Emmett sensed any danger from us. The rest of the family stayed back. Emmett looked surprised at the appearance of Jasper's scars, I would have been surprised if he hadn't. But he retained a civil, open posture. "Hello there" Carlisle said genially, walking slowly toward us with Emmett close beside him. "Hello Carlisle!" I said brightly. I wasn't as nervous as I would otherwise have been. They would trust Emmett's and Edward's talents to warn them of trouble or deception. And of course we brought neither.

Of course he was surprised at my knowing his name, and then he came close enough to see that our eyes were like his. "I'm Alice and this is Jasper. I have waited a long time to finally meet you all. If it's alright with you we would like to join your family."

I suppose I could have led up to that part but I had waited long enough and was getting impatient. It was probably best to get it out in the open anyway. If Carlisle was a little taken aback before he looked rather shocked now. " Can we sit somewhere and talk? There's a lot to explain" I asked, still chipper. They all looked a little nervous, especially Esme who had both hands on Edwards shoulders, ready to whisk him away at the first sign of trouble. "Edward, why don't you go set up your room so we can talk." She suggested in a firm tone that made it clear that it wasn't a suggestion at all. To Edwards credit he looked only _slightly _mutinous before turning toward the house and slowly obeying.

"May I suggest we talk over here." Carlisle finally spoke up,indicating a nice little gazebo a little before the tree line in their back yard. The six of us sat down and I began by explaining my gift, which of course fascinated them despite themselves. Esme looked appalled at the part where I woke up alone, and I didn't need to be Jasper to sense the pride she was practically choking on when I told her how visions of meeting Carlisle and their family introduced me to and helped me stay with our "vegetarian" diet.

Jasper told his story, a little uncomfortable I think because he is the only one of us to have lived the other way. But the Cullens acted like themselves, very kind and endlessly understanding. Even Emmett seemed to relax. I asked him some questions about life as a half-breed, which he answered in his usual exuberant good nature. We also chatted and asked questions about their highly interesting cousins in Alaska. It all went pretty much as I had seen in my visions.

I confess sometimes I tend to live in the futures I see, so I already loved them all. I would have to give them time to get used to me though. I don't think any of us realized how long we had been talking until Edward came back out. With a child's frankness he asked if we were going to live with them now. Carlisle and Esme looked at each other and came to some kind of understanding. "You understand how committed we are to the life we have chosen, there really isn't much flexibility on that point. Are you sure that this is what you want?" Carlisle asked.

I gripped Jasper's hand firmly. "We are both very committed to the lifestyle _we_ have chosen, whether you would like us to join you or not. The life of a nomad, or a human drinker is not for me. And not for Jasper anymore. We would like a family." After a moment Esme smiled broadly and said "We'll have to figure out where to put you, that shouldn't be difficult though, we haven't even started unpacking. I guess this means we will also have to revise our story." Carlisle nodded and looked like he was ruminating on a cover story for his expanding household. I took that as my cue to fess up. Oh well, they would have to get used to living with the psychic sometime.

"Actually, I sort of renovated this beautiful place on the other side of town. It's extremely spacious, and very well located." I gushed out in a hurry, looking apologetic I'm sure. "We don't have to live there of course if you don't like it. This is a wonderful house you have here. The place deserved to be fixed up anyway, so it doesn't really matter" I finished. Jasper put a hand on my shoulder, of course he could tell I was nervous. Again, I had managed to surprise them, I wondered if they were tired of it already.

Carlisle and Esme exchanged another look. "Lets see the place then." said Esme smiling, wearing the same slightly bemused look I got from Jasper sometimes. We showed them the house, and the little cottage close by that I had also fixed up. I figured as long as I was gutting the property, I might as well do it properly. Esme fell in love with the glass wall, like I knew she would and I assured her that the decorating was her job. When Carlisle pulled me aside and asked me how we afforded such a place, it was my turn to be amused. I reminded him about my ability and what a savvy investor it made me. I figured I would wait to mention the gambling. Vampire or not, Carlisle would always be a preachers son. He wouldn't look down on my playing the stock market, investing was good for the economy. I supported a lot of children's and veterans hospitals with my earnings, as well as some scholarship funds.

"Well son" he said to Edward, who had been running around the place happily deciding where he wanted the piano to go and what room he wanted "looks like you are going to have to go back to your old room and repack everything." Edward took this manfully, and asked to head back to do that so he could spend the night in his new room. Rosalie was still on her closet space high, and Emmett and Jasper had already scheduled what I could only assume would be the first of many wrestling matches. Everything was perfect. Our new family had accepted us, I just wondered how soon I could realistically work on their wardrobes.

**A.N. Thanks again for your reviews. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. **


	5. Crash

**Don't own anything, S.M. wouldn't even lend me Paul. Damn. **

Chapter 5. Part 1 Crash

June 1937.

Edward-

I was very seriously relieved to be done with the second grade. The teacher would get so irritated when she couldn't get a wrong answer out of me. Mrs. Reed had also taken an extremely off putting liking to my father. At least she was less obnoxious about it then some of the men that would gape and leer at my mother and Rosalie. I wonder if Alice could tell me if my teacher next year would be less annoying. Maybe I would use that to test the waters before I tried to get her to tell me what my birthday presents would be. (**A.N I had to show Emmett's influence somehow.) **It was only six days until I turned eight. Emmett had been teasing me, telling me that I was a man now and should start chipping in some rent. He said when he was eight he had two jobs and a live in girlfriend.

Unhappily for Emmett, Rosalie had been walking up quietly behind him. He got a good smack to the head and a lecture on "being so crass in front of a child". She then lectured me on what an unattractive and somewhat dangerous habit it was to go around rolling your eyes at people. I resisted another eye roll at that and went back to my room. Now that I was free of school for the summer I had plans to make. The most perfect idea came to me then.

A tree house. Somewhere out in the middle of the forest, far away from any trails. A big elaborate tree house. I knew this would be right up Emmett's ally, he would love it. I would just have to make it big enough for him to fit. Did I want a nice southern exposure? What kind of materials should I use? Did I want to go full on castle in Ireland or stick with a more humble classic Americana? Hmm. There was a lot to think about. As I have learned from my mother, the first thing an architect has to do before making any plans is to take a good look at his location.

I told Mom I was going for a run and would be back for dinner. Alice just winked at me on my way out. I'm sure she could see what I was planning. It was very interesting, living with a psychic. I wondered if Jasper would like to help. I think some busy work might be just the thing to trick him into talking. Bubbly Alice blended in with all of us pretty quickly, but Jasper was a little more allusive. I could ask him about Texas.

There must be a nice secluded spot that would work. I would do a thorough search until I found that perfect place. I was pretty sure I could cajole Dad into helping too. I stopped to wonder if they had tree houses in mid-seventeenth century England. Probably not in London. Dad was born a city boy. Then I wondered if anyone had written a book on the history of tree houses. I would have to look into it. A few miles from the house my architectural ambitions were interrupted when I heard the sound of brakes and a large crash. I had to decide what to do. Should I go get the others? Or should I just go see if I could help?

It might look odd to see a seven year old wondering around the woods by the highway, but I would just go see if anyone was hurt. Two miles later I could smell the crash, and blood. I did my best to block out the inevitable flashbacks of my birth. I could also smell the buck that was hoofing away from the accident. It was worse than I thought. The car was smashed into one of the trees the tourists love so much. The deer must have ran out into the middle of the road and caused the accident. My stomach was in knots when I approached the car.

Wishing very badly that my father was there with me, I approached the car. I could make out some shallow breathing. Someone was still alive, they needed help. I ran a fairly toasty one-hundred-and-three degrees, but the sight of the obviously dead couple in the front of the car made my blood run cold. They were gone and I couldn't help them, it was a dreadful helpless feeling. And a familiar one. But there was still a heartbeat somewhere in that car. I had to look in the back.

_You can do this _I said to myself. _Whoever is in there needs you._

It was a girl. She was hurt. As gently as I could, I picked her up of the floor of the back where she had landed and pulled her out. I knew this was very dangerous, but her breathing sounded too shallow and I could hear her heartbeat was slowing. She looked my age. Her too pale skin contrasted sharply with her long mahogany hair. It didn't take me long to realize that this was a result of blood loss. Her right leg was bent at a very wrong angle, and it was the left that was causing most of the blood loss. It was bleeding way too fast. Her head was bleeding a little too.

I should have been racing her to the hospital or back home, but it was like I was frozen there with her. Had Alice been able to see this, was Dad on his way? She was getting better at it but it was still harder for her to see me than anyone else. The girl started to stir then. In what looked like a Herculean effort, she opened her eyes. They were brown and deep and very confused. "It's OK, it'll all be OK" I said to her, echoing the words my mother said to me in the jungle. When I was the newly orphaned one. She looked up at me for a few moments, even hurt and disoriented she looked like she was taking everything in. It was the eyes, very perceptive eyes. Still she looked so helpless.

Then suddenly it looked like something dawned on her, she stared up at me with a look of wonder on her face and said "oh", like she just realized something terribly important. She spoke so softly I'm not sure I would have heard her without my vampire hearing. Her heart was getting much too faint, and I realized I had to do something soon. She was dieing. That fact hit me like nothing I had ever felt before and made me feel almost light headed with panic. It couldn't happen, it just couldn't.

It's almost impossible to describe but I felt like if she died than a piece of me would be gone too. That didn't make any sense at all. She wasn't my friend or a member of my family. I didn't know her at all.

_Thump..Thump...Thump_

Her heart was still slowing too fast and her leg was still bleeding badly. Then it hit me like lightening. About a year and a half ago when we were in South America visiting Nahuel and Huilen, Nahuel told me one of his older sisters had a beloved human friend. When Zafrina came back from a long trip and went to see this friend, she found out that Senna and her family had become very ill. Her friend was already gone, as well as her husband. And their toddler was due to follow them very quickly. Zafrina took a major gamble and used her stock of venom to change the little girl.

She knew the price that was to be paid for creating an immortal child, so she stole away with the baby without telling anyone anything. She just left a letter saying she wanted to travel, and would be back but she didn't know when. Zafrina just hoped that the child would be able to control herself the way she and her siblings had when they were babies. But to her surprise Kachiri was able to do much more than that. She actually grew. Just like they had. The half-breed venom she had injected into her hadn't trapped her as a child forever. Kachiri's mind grew very quickly, and she still grew physically. Then at about seventeen or eighteen she just stopped aging, just as Zafrina and her family had. And Zafrina finally felt safe enough to come back to her brother and sisters and tell them what happened.

I hesitated for a moment, thinking of my fathers reaction if I were to do this. Somehow I couldn't make myself believe that was a good enough reason not to do it. Had he not created two and a half vampires? Mother, Rosalie and Emmett were here because of him. Emmett to a lesser degree because of me. If he could use my venom to save Emmett, than I should be able to use it to save this girl. I would take care of her. Show her how to hunt and explain what the rules were. I would always look after her the way Dad would always look after any of us. She would never be alone.

My mind was made up. I blanched a little at the actual act though. I had never bitten a person before. Doing it in front of this terrible accident by the woods did sort of make me feel like a real vampire for once. It was a strange feeling. I didn't really stop to think about the mystical nature of my family or myself much. We were different sure, but mostly we just wanted the same things as everyone else. Reminding myself that I was saving her not hurting her, and she was almost certainly going to die if I didn't. I took her from the side of the road and into the woods.

Once we were far enough away, I steeled myself for what I was about to do.

And then I bit.

First her wrists and then her neck. Then I figured I should bite her ankles too. She wasn't in good shape and I wanted to get plenty of venom into her. We stayed there for over an hour. I wanted to make sure the venom was working. Her leg had stopped bleeding and her heart rate had picked up. I wondered how long it would be before it sounded like mine. You could already start to smell a little of the strange mix of vampire and human in her. Not much yet, but I took it as a good sign. That's when I heard my family coming. Alice must have finally checked my future.

"Edward" My mother breathed with a shocked look on her face. Alice, Emmett, Jasper and Rosalie were right behind her. Dad must be on his way, if Alice had seen enough to bring the rest of them. All of them wore the same floored expression as my mom. "What is going on here? What happened?" She asked rushing over to me and my new progeny.

"She's changing isn't she?" Alice asked quietly. She understood. "There was an accident. Her parents are up there on the road." I said. This affected them all, I would have to tell them everything. Rosalie was looking at me with a strange look on her face. Not angry or really that surprised, like she new something. I would figure that out later. "You bit her?" Mom asked, still shocked. "I couldn't let her die." I was desperate for her to understand.

"Her parents are gone?" Jasper asked. I could see him slipping into Major Whitlock mode. "Yes, they were already dead when I got there." I told him. He looked at Emmett, "We need to get rid of the car."

Emmett nodded and they headed back to the road in the direction I pointed at. Alice put her hand on mom's shoulder, "We should take them home." Mom just nodded. She didn't seem to know what to make of all this. I couldn't blame her, neither did I really. I picked up the girl and started toward the house. I would really have to find out her name. A bit of nausea came over me, would she be angry with me? What if she didn't like being a vampire? I was anxious for her to be happy with us. The change wouldn't cause her pain, she would still grow up, she could still go into the sunlight, her control would be perfect. She could do just about anything she wanted to.

It was a pretty quiet trip back to the house. Dad wasn't back yet either. "Take her upstairs Edward. Go ahead and lay her down the guest room." "Yes mom."I replied. I did as I was told. If it weren't for the blood on her clothes and her head, and the awkward angle of her leg, anyone would just think she was taking a nap. That's when I heard Dad's car coming down the road. I hoped that mom would meet him and give him the basics, so I wouldn't have to. Childish I know, but I was still seven years old for a few days.

Saving her life felt so much like the right thing to do, but I was still nervous about what my dad would think. I heard the door open and Mom go out. I heard her give him the bare bones of what happened, just like I hoped she would. "Edward bit her? The little girl is changing?" The tone of his voice bordered on disbelief. "Yes" My mother said simply, you could tell she still had not processed this fact for herself. Rosalie came in the room with some things to help clean the girl up with and some clean clothes. I could tell she was holding her breath. "Thanks Rose." I told her.

She just gave a little smile. "You should rinse of and change." She said simply. I had gotten a good amount of blood on me. "Not yet, I still have to talk to Dad." Rosalie gave me a sympathetic look at that and left the room.

The door opened and I heard my parents coming back in. Dad was in the room as fast as his vampire speed could bring him. He looked at me, then the girl, trying to take it all in. "Esme, my bag." He said. But Alice was already right there behind him in the door holding it out to him. "Thank you." He said, polite as always even in the tensest situation. Most of the smaller cuts and bruises were healing quickly and her left leg had stopped bleeding. He treated them all anyway and set her right leg. He managed to get some pain medicine in her before her skin and veins became to hard for the needle, just in case she might be hurting. He listened very carefully to her breathing and her heart rate before he was done.

"Rosalie, could you finish cleaning her up and change her please? We should get the bloody clothes and bedding out of here. I will be back soon, I just need to speak to Edward" "Yes Carlisle."

He walked out the door to his office. I followed, prepared to meet my doom if necessary. He was behind his desk, I took the seat in front of it. Appropriately dubbed "the hot seat", because Emmett and I were usually the ones in it. He just looked at me and said "What happened?"

I took a breath and began. "I heard the crash, I'm pretty sure a deer caused it. I was pretty close so I decided to see if anyone was hurt. Her parents were in the front seats, but they were already dead, she was dieing too. That cut to her leg was really bad and I couldn't let her die so I bit her." I gushed out at once.

Then I squirmed there for a few seconds, waiting for Dad to take it all in and wondering if he had forgotten how to make facial expressions. I pretty much felt like a gladiator in the arena waiting for the thumbs up or down from the emperor. It was basically the same story Mom had given him outside when he came home anyway.

"I understand not wanting to watch the poor child die son, really I do. But changing someone, adding a member to this family should never be something you do without talking to, or asking myself and the rest of the family. Bringing someone into this life pretty much dwarfs almost any other commitment you can possibly make. And you basically made it for all of us."

"I know I did Dad, I just couldn't let her die. I don't know what it was but I just couldn't. I'm really sorry I did it without you." I said, willing him to understand. To remember when he did the same thing, three times.

He gave me a long speculative look and sighed. Then he looked past me to the paintings on the wall behind me. "Our main concern now is for the girl. She has already begun to heal and change, she will most likely wake up by tomorrow evening. We will have to explain all this to her. She probably wont remember what happened, to her _or_ her parents. And in all likelihood will be very frightened when she wakes up, with her new senses. This may not be easy son."

I just nodded,what else could I do. "I'm going to do everything I can to help her Dad. That's my job now." He gave a small weary smile at that. "You will need help." he said.

**A.N. Hey guys. Hope you enjoyed. Part 2 shouldn't be too far off. Thanks for the reviews. (Love those by the way. Hint hint.) Real quick about this chapter. If you read Midnight Sun, you will notice that Edward is drawn to Bella very quickly. At lunch the day he comes back from Alaska and before he has ever even spoken to Bella, he's already annoyed with Mike Newton. Edward doesn't like the possessive tone to Mikes thoughts because apparently **_**he**_** is already feeling a bit possessive of her. This is before he introduces himself or they do the mitosis lab. Then he's bothered that Mike thought that Bella didn't think much of their conversation in Bio.**

**He then stands by his car in the rain after the bell rings and is disappointed she didn't have to walk by him to get to her truck. When he goes hunting with Carlisle that evening and talks himself into leaving so he wont kill Bella, it upsets him. He doesn't understand why but it does. By the next morning, right before the van comes crashing into the truck, he's wishing he had worn gloves so he could give her a hand walking in the ice. Standing by his car taking a hopeful breath of air, hoping she will come over and talk to him. **

**We all know Rosalie and Emmett's story, he was a stranger, almost dead and still somehow she knew he was for her. Jasper knew right away when he met Alice. They weren't complete without each other. **

**Then there's Renesmee and Jacob. She was just three days old and already she felt she had a claim to Jacob. There was a possessive tone to her thoughts ****when she sees Bella attacking him. He was hers, she didn't want him hurt.**

**And I always wondered if Carlisle's quick encounter with Esme when she broke her leg was somehow the straw that broke the camels back with his loneliness, and what partially drove him to change Edward just a few years later. It's not as flashy as imprinting, but it would seem vampires know their mates pretty quickly. They're still kids here, but that's basically what just happened to Edward. If a three day old baby can spot their other half that fast, than an eight year old child should be able too.**


	6. Crash 2

**A.N I don't own anything, just a really slow laptop.**

Chapter Six. Crash Part 2.

Rosalie.

I probably shouldn't be surprised. Of all the strange things about our kind, our devotion to our mates and our ability to spot them so quickly always seemed like one of the few advantages we had. I wasn't expecting it to happen to Edward so soon though. Vampire or not he is still a child. I never thought my gift would surprise me more than it did when I met Emmett and I could literally see the bond forming between us as he lay there dyeing. But seeing that same thing happen to my seven year old brother and that little girl was even stranger. I ached for the child. She wouldn't have to go through many of the painful things a normal (I use the word loosely) vampire would but she was still loosing so much.

Her mother and father were gone, as was any chance she had for a normal life. No staying in one place, no making any real friends she could be truthful with, even at maturity she would probably look too young for any real job. She would be stuck in the hell the public school system refers to as high school with the rest of us. She wouldn't be the danger to humans we are, but there would still be a wall between her and them. I actually wondered if that would make it harder for Edward and her. Excepting my Emmett, when we stayed away from the people we would see everyday for at least a few years, we had their safety in mind. We were dangerous whether we wanted to be or not. It wouldn't be like that for them. Edward and his little mate (I had to acknowledge that's what she was, or would be. These things were usually mutual.) could live a practically human life if they could just age. Hybrids had so much more in common with the humans than we did, would that make it harder? They ate real food like them, got tired and slept like them, they could make a family the natural way like them. No real homicidal or cannibalistic impulses to remind them of the differences between themselves and the rest of the population. I was grateful Emmett didn't have to go through any of that, but sometimes I wondered if being so much closer to normal actually hurt him _worse_ than if he was more completely separated from the humans.

This was certainly an interesting situation though. Emmett would be happy to have things shaken up. We were all on pins and needles waiting for the newest member of our family to wake. I think the rest of our coven were just trying to figure out what really possessed our youngest member to change this little stranger. They didn't understand yet. Edward was tied to her as absolutely as the rest of us were to our mates, I could see her tied to him as well even though she had barely been conscious in his presence. It would be much stronger when she was one of us, and when she spent real time with him. I needed to warn Carlisle and Esme so they could understand what was happening. This was going to be a touchy conversation.

We still had at least six or seven hours before she woke, if not more. Alice had left for Seattle to buy her some clothing and other supplies(very Alice), Jasper was trying to talk strategy with Emmett. The I.D on the girls parents said their names were Charles and Renee Swan, Jasper thought they should go and quickly and quietly abscond with the contents of the Swans home in California so the girl could have all her parents belongings. Emmett was probably the best person to help take care of that, with his California proof skin. It would take time to drive all the way down there and back, but she should have her things. Jasper was better at forging papers than the rest of us too, and he would need to take care of that before anyone else saw her and before they enrolled her in school in the fall. He would need to confirm a cover story with Carlisle before he could do that though. It was the most I had heard him speak since he had joined us.

Easygoing Emmett was more interested in taking her on her first hunt and hoping she would like sports. That was my husband though, he never worried about anything.

Not that he was thoughtless or slow, he just had this bizarre but endearing trust in the universe that I could never quite match.

Edward was still sitting watch over the girl, I found Esme in the hallway and told her I needed a word with her and Carlisle, who was playing sick from the hospital today for obvious reasons. "Could we take a little walk please?" I asked them. I led them a good distance from the house and took a breath I could almost swear was necessary. Esme with her mothers intuition looked a little nervous and worried about what I was going to tell them. Carlisle looked concerned but patient as ever. So without any further ado I just went ahead and ripped the bandage off.

"It's about Edward and our patient. I just thought you should know what I could see with my gift. Edward is very attached to the girl, he is bound to her very tightly. I haven't seen anything like it in one so young before."

As I expected they looked a little confused as they tried to make out the exact meaning of my words. Carlisle finally spoke after a moment.

"I suppose he would feel a natural attachment to his progeny, as I feel towards you. It is an unusual situation,but there really isn't much that is normal when it comes to Edward. You don't think it's something we should worry about do you?"

Obviously it was going to be a little more difficult for them to understand what I was trying to tell them. That made sense though, how could they guess something like this?

"What I'm trying to tell you is that the attachment he has for the Swan girl is as strong a bond as anyone in this family feels for their mate." I paused a moment to let that sink in before I went on. "I could also see her tied to him in a weaker way. It reminded me so much of when I found Emmett. If she can feel that connection to Edward while she's barely conscious and dyeing, as well as human than I don't see how she could be anything but his mate when she is one of us and grown up. I'm not sure if Edward understands any of this, I wasn't sure if it would be better to talk to him about it or to just let him discover it on his own when he gets older."

You could almost hear the crickets singing as my parents stood there trying to process what I had just told them. If I had my husbands unending faith and completely inappropriate sense of humor, I would have found their bewildered expressions and the situation as a whole pretty amusing.

Carlisle was always so calm and collected and usually the one to pull it together first, Esme beat him to it this time.

"You mean...you think he is going to love her? That they will love each other? As a mated couple?" she asked, in an appropriately shocked tone of voice.

I answered as clearly and honestly as I could. "I can't see this kind of deep attachment ending as anything else. If something happened to her, I don't know what we could do with Edward."

And that was the truth. I don't think Edward could go on without her anymore than I could go on without Emmett. Our kind were a very loyal breed. Even if Edward didn't even really comprehend romantic love or attraction yet, she was still it for him. When you live forever, that love is what you live for. While our kind could find attraction without love, we were never fooled by it the way humans are. We could always tell the difference, and once you found it there was really no going back. Vampires rarely survived the loss of our mates.

Carlisle seemed to come out of his stupor. "...What do we do? Do we tell him anything? Do we tell _her_ anything?" I had never seen Carlisle looking so confused. Wise Carlisle with over three hundred years of experience to draw on was the one the rest of us went to when _we_ were lost, not the other way around. Today though he looked fairly stumped. I did what I usually do in these situations and tried to think of what someone smarter than I am would say. " I guess we just concentrate on helping the girl. Everything else will have to come in its own time. We probably shouldn't interfere unless it becomes necessary."

Several hours later and I thought the tension was going to break poor Jasper. Everyone was waiting, and wondering and worrying. Edward in particular looked extremely anxious. The odds were that she would be very confused with her new senses, more than likely frightened and would have the grief of losing her parents to deal with on top of the highly disorienting experience of changing species. Her eyesight, her hearing, sense of smell and her new vampire fast brain would all take some serious adapting to get used to. As well as her new found strength and speed. That was all a pretty large adjustment for an adult who had been turned, but she was practically still a baby. I couldn't help but marvel at the beautiful little creature. Asleep like that she looked like something out of a fairy tale. You could tell the transformation was nearly finished, she was beyond breathtaking. Sure Edward was the most beautiful little boy ever born, but this was different. She was a girl. Esme, Alice and I would have lots of fun mothering and dressing and fawning over our little brunette beauty.

I was very curious to know what she would be like when she was grown up, and amused myself by trying to guess her name. There had been nothing in the car with it written on it. Alice was back. Whoever this girl was she would be quite stylishly dressed. I'm not sure she would be able to wear everything Alice got her before she grew out of it. Alice was trying so hard to see something, anything. But it was all still very fuzzy, it would probably get easier when she spent more time with the girl and got to know her. It was easier for her to see Edward now than when she first met him. Not easy but easier. Esme was of course trying to decide which room she would like best, I could see the slightly wild gleam in her eye she always had when she got to redecorate. I knew she would be haunting all the best furniture stores in the state as soon as possible.

Esme was such a good mother though, her own tie to the girl was already visible. She loves so fiercely, I hope having her around will help the Swan girl with the heavy loss she has suffered. Though I suppose she is a Cullen girl now. Carlisle could be a little formal, but he loved his family and was very dedicated to all of us. He would be a great father for her. She would be able to go to him for anything and he would be his usual generous, understanding, kind, caring, patient, wise self. Just being around two such gentle people often made me regret my own intemperance.

Alice was probably the one vampire who didn't really have to remind herself to fidget, though normally it looked more like dancing. She looked so anxious for the girl to wake up, like she was awaiting the unveiling of a masterpiece. Carlisle looked uncharacteristically nervous. Esme, I'm sure was itching to throw her arms around the girl and commence with the mothering. Edward was a little trickier to figure out, his face was tense. Nervous too, with a little impatience around the edges. I remembered waiting for Emmett to wake, wondering if he was going to hate me but so wanting to get to know him. Wanting to know every little thing about him. That must be what Edward was going through now.

I was more than a little protective of Edward. He had brought so much joy to my life, being a part of his childhood was my saving grace in a very dark time for me. I hoped that this girl, when the time came, would see how wonderful he was. He was very smart and terribly sweet most of the time. He was incredibly talented as well, his piano playing was _so_ beautiful. And funny. There was a little bit of darkness to his sense of humor that matched my own, so we had always got on very well.

I wasn't too worried though. I believed what I told our parents. She would love him one day. Her heart rate matched Edwards now, her human sent had also changed into a hybrids.

We all nearly jumped out of our granite skin when she took a deep breath. Was this it? I hoped Jasper was ready to calm her down. Her breath sped up a little and slowly her eyes opened.

**A.N. Hope this was OK. Next chapter in little Bella's POV I think.**

**So Sorry For the wait.**


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